The Downfall
by Love-el-ly Joy
Summary: When Buffy agrees to go to L.A. to help the gang with Angelus, she knows it'll be hard, both physically and emotionally, but nevertheless, she agrees. How long will she last?  Kind of Bangel, but sort of Spuffy at the same time. Rated T for VIOLENCE! Yay!
1. And So It Began

_A/N: This story is a BEAAAST! If I do say so myself, that is._

_Betareader: The ever-talented and super awesome sugarless5 is my betareading buddy, and she did, in fact, inspire me to write this with her talk of an Angelus story, which will be a project of hers in the near future. And it's gonna be pretty dang awesome, so when I post a chapter of this with an A/N that says, "Okay! sugarless5's new story is up! Go read it!", you WILL go read it, yes? Good. Anyway, thank you to sugarless5 for being awesome._

_Canon Changes: Fred doesn't suck as much._

_The DownfallChapter One: And So It Began_

It was one of those rare rainy, drizzly, overall yucky day in Sunnydale, California, where it was normally, as the name proclaimed, a beautiful, warm place where the sun peeked out from every corner of the town.

It was because of this that Buffy Summers glanced frequently out of her living room window. Days like this, the ones that had no sun, were perfect for an ubervamp attack.

In the middle of one of these glances, she got so involved in staring out the window at the falling droplets of water that she jumped when the phone rang.

Xander rolled his eyes at his friend and picked up the phone, seeing as Buffy was probably too startled to be coherent when speaking over the line. "Hello? Yes, it is. Hang on a second; I'll just put her on... " he held the phone out to Buffy. "It's for you.

She took the cordless phone from Xander (A/N: Not sure if they actually have a cordless phone. I'll need to do a Fact Check so that I can make the setting as accurate as possible.) and answered, "Hello?"

"Oh, hi! Are you Buffy? Oh, it's so great to _meet_ you!" a Southern voice twanged out.

"Um... hello." She awkwardly waited a moment, waiting for the girl on the other end to say anything. When she didn't, Buffy continued, "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but... well, who are you?"

The girl laughed. "I'm so sorry. My name's Fred. I'm a friend of Angel's. It's just that Angel and Cordy and Wesley've always talked so much about you, I feel like I know you already."

She was a friend of Angel's. Buffy felt the nervousness from that day's weather quickly drain away, replaced by the warm, comfortable feeling she always got when Angel contacted her - it was kind of like when you were in seventh grade and you got in a fight with your best friend and your mom gave you a hug and let you sit on her lap while you watched reruns of old TV shows from the eighties.

"Well, in that case," Buffy replied, much more warmly, "it's great to meet you too." Then she remembered the circumstances under which she normally got to talk to Angel. But then again, she wasn't really talking to Angel - he'd had one of his lackeys call her. So maybe... "What's up? Is something wrong?"

When Fred replied, she sounded like her spirits were a little dampened, but she was still cheerful. "Have you seen the reports on the news about what's going on over here?"

"About the sun? Sure."

"Yeah. Well, see, here's the thing. Angel might have met the Beast, the thing that's doin' all this, but he doesn't remember. So we were thinking that maybe, if we brought Angelus back, we might be able to nab our monster."

"Wait. I don't understand. What... what are you saying?"

"We're going to bring back Angelus."

Buffy's world stopped. The warm feeling she'd felt stopped, leaving just as quickly as it had come. In its place came pure ice cold, filling her from the top of her head to the tips of her fingers to her toes. All of her major organs froze over, particularly her heart, and she felt as though she might throw up. Buffy stopped breathing, until she remembered that there might be a vampire attack at any moment. She had to stay strong for the girls, if nothing else, at this terrible news.

"No. No. No, no, no, no, _NO_!" Buffy screamed into the phone.

"Buffy - "

"Who decided this?" Buffy demanded. "It was you, wasn't it? You and Wesley, I bet. Angel would never be this _stupid_. Neither would Cordelia. She was here. She knew what it was like. Do you have any idea what you're doing? I could barely handle Angelus, and I'm a _Slayer_, for God's sake. You're just some dumb little girl trying to play detective. Do you have any idea what it's like to know that at any moment, he could be killing or torturing your friends and there's nothing you can do to stop him? Or have you ever experienced having the guy you love more than anything taken over to the Dark Side, for lack of better words? Do you know what it's like to have to go through it alone, because it's _your_ fault and you know it and everyone who's in on what's going on knows it? And even though they say they understand and they can help, they _can't_. You know what? I've been there. Twice. And once you go through it, then knock yourself out. You can bring back Angelus to tell you about the Thing or whatever it's called whenever you want to."

Buffy fell back on the couch, tears about to start brimming in her eyes. Xander had the good taste to have left by the time she started yelling "No!" a minute ago, either because he was giving her some privacy or he didn't want to be around for one of her rants.

"I know that," Fred said. I know we can't handle Angelus alone. That's why we all decided to call you. We want your help." She paused. "I'm really sorry, though. We should have thought about how it would make you feel. But we really do want you to help."

"No." Buffy said immediately. "I have my own apocalypse going on here, lady. I have the future of the world to protect, here, both literally and Slayer-ifically. You'll have to bust out Faith."

"Believe me, we discussed that. But we decided that you would be the best choice to come and help us. Faith's never battled Angelus before, let alone won, unlike you. Buffy, you're our best shot. Please."

Hearing her criticize Faith, or at least say Buffy was better at this than her, did make her feel a little better. She paused before responding, "I'll think about it and call you back later, okay?"

"That would be _great_." Fred replied. "Okay, I'll talk to you soon, then! Bye!"

Buffy clicked off the phone.

_Guess I'm taking a trip back home._


	2. Details

_**A/N: I'm writing this one stag, without my betareader, for several reasons. The first is that I wanted to get it up quickly and didn't want to wait for feedback, and the other is that I like doing stuff solo xD Of course, I'll still be like, "THE STORY IS UP. GO READ IT," and then you will. So yeah. Anyway, I kind of like this chapter - lots of Spuffy, which is one of the three ships with the character Buffy I support, the other two being Briley and Xuffy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love me some Bangel, too, and he was totally important and everything, but in the long run, he wouldn't be good for her. Anyway. Yeah.**_

_**Canon Changes: Robin tried to kill Spike, so those two hate each other, but Giles didn't help - I really want Buffy and Giles to get along in this chapter. Also, this isn't really a change so much as an addition to a character - Dawn is a sort-of-obsessive feminist as one of her Teenager Phases. You know, the ones everyone goes through. I think it makes a lot of sense for her character.**_

_**The Downfall**_

_**Chapter Two - Details**_

**For the first time in half a year, the Scooby Gang was able to sit down and actually have a meal together, without the Potentials.**

**All of them were there - Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya, and even Spike and Andrew. The latter was allowed to dine with them for one reason, however, and one reason only - he was too wimpy to go on patrol with the Potentials and if they let him use the new microwave by himself, it was highly possible he would blow it up, taking the house along with it.**

"**Buffy, this chicken is **_**amazing**_**," Willow said, scooping up another forkful.**

"**Thanks," she replied modestly. "It was Mom's recipe. She made it at least once a month, so I guess I kind of spent a lot of time watching her make it."**

**Spike was eating the chicken, too, and it was obviously from the look on his face that he liked it. He'd never admit he liked anything so homey and comfort food-ish as honey-and-curry chicken, though, so he remained silent.**

"**Mm." Dawn said, finishing up. She picked up her napkin off of her lap and put it on the table beside her now-empty plate. "That really was good, Buffy."**

"**Since we're all here now and I don't have to argue about this in front of the girls," Buffy began, sawing into her chicken, "there's something I've been wanting to talk to you guys about all day."**

"**Is this about this morning when you started yelling 'No!' into the phone?" Xander asked.**

"**Actually, yes," Buffy replied. "I got a call from Angel's friend Fred today. I need to go out to L.A. to help them with... something."**

**There was a moment's silence before Spike said, "Can I come?"**

"**Why? You don't even know what's going on yet."**

"**You're going to go visit the great Captain Forehead. Think I'd miss a chance to see him and brag about how I've got - " Spike broke off suddenly.**

**Buffy raised her eyebrow. "You'd better be talking about your soul, because otherwise, I'll have to kick your butt on behalf of Dawn, who is now an active feminist."**

"**Right," Spike replied. "Of course I was."**

"**That's what I thought." Buffy smirked. "Anyway, the thing is, this thing, the Beast? It's what's been blotting out the sun out there. They want to turn Angel back into Angelus to get more information on it."**

**There was more silence before Giles said, "But what's this got to do with you? Why do you have to go out there?"**

**Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. I guess to help contain him? I'm talking to Fred again tonight - I promised to give her a sure answer about whether I'll help or not."**

**Spike smirked. "Then I'm **_**definitely**_** coming with you. Angel, Angelus, and a girl named Fred all in the same trip? Count me in."**

"**But Buffy," Willow chimed in, "we need you here. What happens if you leave and the First decides to attack?"**

"**It won't." Buffy told her decisively. "It's me it wants. Or, at least, it wants me to be there to make me watch it kill all of the Potentials. Besides, even if it does happen, which I highly doubt, you're probably even stronger than me. I trust you to protect them."**

**Xander coughed into his hand.**

"**And, of course, Xander, my other best friend, will keep them all safe from harm, as well. As will my Watcher, Giles, and... Andrew."**

**Andrew straightened himself up, puffed out his chest, and announced, "I, Andrew Wells, will do my best to protect the innocent Potential Slayers. Like Peter Parker, I will shield them from the enemy while even still hiding my true self from them. I will give my very **_**life**_** to save them!"**

"**Right," Spike said, "let's hope it comes down to that, then."**

**A chuckle escaped Buffy's lips.**

"**That's wonderful, Andrew," Buffy replied, "even though it opens up a **_**whole **_**new set of questions." Getting back on track, she continued, "So do you think you guys can spare me for a few days? Maybe a week?"**

"**And me," Spike added.**

"**And Spike." Buffy amended.**

**The gang looked around at each other. Finally, Willow shrugged. "I guess. I mean, we can always just call you if anything comes up. And it **_**has **_**been pretty quiet for the past few weeks. Of course, that's when it always seems like we get hit by the full-scale brigade."**

**Ignoring the last part, Buffy stood up. "Okay, great. Then I guess I'll just go call them back and then I'll go pick up the girls from the cemetery."**

**Buffy walked into the living room and lifted the phone, quickly dialing the number she knew by heart.**

"**Angel Investigations; we help the helpless," a voice answered. It was almost grating, but in a cheerful sort of way.**

"**Oh, hey, Cordelia!" Buffy said into the phone.**

"**Hey, Buffy." She dropped the phone manner and went back to snotty. "So? What's going on?"**

"**I'd really rather talk to Angel."**

"**Unfortunately, Angel's in a meeting with some clients. Besides, he doesn't want to talk to you. Angel doesn't like it when his **_**ex-girlfriends **_**call his friends - "**

"**Buffy? Is that you?" Angel asked, apparently having taken the phone from Cordelia.**

"**Um, yeah. Hey."**

"**Sorry about that. She's been acting really weird lately."**

**Even though he couldn't see it, Buffy raised her eyebrow. "Cordy isn't always weird?" **

**Angel laughed. It was good to hear.**

"**So here's the thing," Buffy said, going straight to the point. "I'll come. When do you need me?"**

"**As soon as possible," he replied. "Preferably tomorrow, before the vampire attacks get too out-of-control."**

"**Tomorrow," Buffy repeated. "I can do tomorrow. I'll be there at about... how does noon-ish sound?"**

"**I'll see you then."**

"**Well, bye, then."**

"**Bye."**

"**Wait." Buffy had one more thing she needed to say. "I love you."**

**She hung up the phone and let out her breath.**


	3. Travel Companions

_A/N: I just watched the episodes "Restless" and "Fool for Love" with commentary, the first by Joss Whedon and second by Doug Petrie. With these fabulous new insights so fresh in my mind, I hope I can, y'know, be all awesome and stuff. Also... GUESS WHAT? SUGARLESS5'S NEW STORY IS UP! It's called "Surviving Life," and you are REQUIRED to go read and review it. Why? a) It's a great story, and you really won't be sorry you read it, c) I'm the betareader for it, and she's been giving me some pretty freaking awesome shout-outs, so you should read 'em and (I quote Faith here) say "Dang! I didn't know you were that cool!" and c) Like I said, I'm the betareader for the story, and for it to get even awesomer, she needs reviews to see what you guys like and don't like. So, yeah. Go read it. The link to her page is on the Reviews page for this story - 'cuz she's been reviewing, like an AWESOME person *cough, cough*._

_Travel Companions_

Buffy drummed her fingers on the center console, glancing frequently at her travel companion in the driver's seat. Spike was driving with only one hand on the wheel, the other being casually draped around the back of her seat (something she had decided to let slide, just since she had to give him props for having been so smooth about it), and God knew he wasn't the most responsible when it came to most things - how was she supposed to know whether driving was one of those rare exceptions, like when it came to taking care of Dawn, or Buffy's mom when she was still alive?

Finally, he caught her looking at him. "Stop worrying, love. You know I've been driving since cars were _invented_."

"But how am I supposed to know if you've been driving _well_?" Buffy shot back, raising her eyebrow. "I feel like I should call the cops on you for driving recklessly. You're going to kill us both. Or, you know, me. Again."

Spike rolled his eyes. "Look. I'm right in the middle of the lane, and I've stayed there since that idiot cut me off right when we were leaving town. Who do you know who drives better than me?"

"Xander always keeps both hands on the wheel, and I'm pretty sure he's never even gotten a speeding ticket."

"Yeah, well, I've been driving for a hundred years and I've never gotten one, either."

"You told me you got a DUI that one time you came back into town after Drusilla dumped you!" Buffy exclaimed.

"That's not a speeding ticket. Besides, that was different. There were circumstances."

"What, you mean like wanting to come back to Sunnydale to make me, Angel, and my friends' lives miserable? It was your fault Xander and Cordelia broke up, you know."

"It was not my fault," Spike debated, continuing their playful argument. "If the boy hadn't been so... promiscuous with his lips, he and Red wouldn't have been kissing in the first place, whether I was there or not.

"And that statement, Spike," Buffy said, "concludes my research: all guys from England are total prigs."

"Why, because I said 'promiscuous'?"

"Precisely."

"Well, what was that? I'm a prig for saying promiscuous but you're not for saying precisely?"

"Girls can't be prigs."

Spike rolled his eyes again at her backward-sexism logic. Buffy just sat there and smirked.

Breaking their conversation, Spike handed her the paper on which Willow had jotted down the address of the hotel Angel owned. "We're in the city now, so could you plug that into the GPS?"

Buffy did that, typing in '935 Hyperion Avenue' [_A/N: I don't know whether that's a real address or not, so if it is, don't, you know, sue me or anything.]. _

Ten minutes later, Spike was parking the car in an ally next to a beautiful old building.

"Judging by the structure," Spike said, looking the thing up and down, "I would say it was built or the outside was renovated in the early- to mid-sixties. See that arch right there?"

Since Buffy had no idea what he was talking about, she pretended to listen, nodding when it seemed appropriate to do so, while simultaneously trying to figure out both why Spike knew so much about architecture and what she was going to say to, not just Angel, but to everybody. There were people in there she _knew; _people she had know for a long, long time. Well, actually, it was just Cordelia and Wesley that she knew, and it wasn't like she spilled out her inner soul to him when he was her Watcher. But, still, Cordelia had been in the original Scooby Gang for three years. And Angel's son. That was sure to be awkward. She could picture Angel now - "Uh, Connor, this is the person that probably should've been your mother. She's going out with my arch nemesis now!"

_No. Bad Buffy. _Buffy thought. _You are NOT going out with Spike. You have never gone out with Spike. Angel knows that._

But, still. Awkward.

When Buffy and Spike finally walked up to the door, she still wasn't prepared. At all.

"Spike," Buffy said when he made to pull the door open, "maybe I should go in first. Everyone in there sort of hates you, remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Spike replied. "Right." Then he seemed to realize something. "Wait, does Captain Forehead even know I'm here?"

Buffy shook her head, and he raised his eyebrow. "What, are you embarrassed of me? Or just trying to make your ex jealous?"

"Please. If I were trying to make Angel jealous, I'd have told him you were coming." They stared at each other for a moment before Buffy turned back to the door. "Well," she said, "here goes nothing."


	4. Of Awkward Reunions

_A/N: I've brainstormed about five ways that this could go down and imagined a ton of random scenes and lines that could go in this, but obviously, some of them have to be cut. And with posting schedules - I've actually given this some thought, and I've decided that, like all of my other fics, I will post whenever I darn well feel like it. This will probably end up being on Friday or Saturday night at eleven-ish, because I tend to like writing at about ten or ten-thirty, and I don't do multiple drafts - one of the reasons that betareading doesn't work for me. Anyway, I hope you like this, and whoever finds the reference to both Princess Diaries and The Nanny in here gets a cookie. (Or if you get one or the other, that's cool, too - you'll just have to share your cookie with the person that got the other reference.)_

_Of Awkward Reuinions_

Buffy pushed open the door, cringing slightly. She was starting to think that bringing Spike without clearing it with Angel first was a bad idea.

_What are you even thinking? _Buffy told herself. _You're a grown, independent woman! You don't need your ex's permission!_

Buffy found herself thinking back to when Michael left and how Mia had to go to therapy but then she finally worked through it. And she never thought that she would need to do this, but Buffy found herself calling on her inner Mia to guide her through this stressful time. _(A/N: Some people pray to God, and Buffy prays to fictional characters. I think she's spent just a little too much time around vampires.)_

Seven heads turned toward Buffy and Spike as they entered the hotel lobby.

"What is _he_ doing here?" Cordelia sneered as soon as they walked in.

Buffy nodded. Yup. Same ol' Cordy. "Nice to see you, too, Cordelia. How've you been?"

"Oh, yeah. Hey, Buffy. But, really... "

"You didn't tell her?" Buffy asked Angel. "We discussed this months ago. And you didn't tell Cordelia?"

"I guess I... forgot," Angel replied apologetically.

"What exactly did you forget, Angel?" Wesley asked, sounding slightly like an interrogator from the Salem Witch Trials.

"Spikey's got himself a soul!" Spike announced from the back. "Do you have any blood around here for a bloke to drink?"

"In the fridge," Angel told him. "Behind the counter."

Spike ducked back there and there was a silence. The only noise was the refrigerator door opening and then thudding shut.

"Well," he said, reemerging, "this is awkward. Say," he turned to Connor. "Is this Captain Forehead, Jr.?"

"Connor." Cordelia told him snidely. "His name is Connor, for your information."

Not _same old Cordy_, Buffy thought. _She was always snide and stuff, but she was never really _mean_._

"Shut up, Cordelia," Buffy snapped.

"Well, excuse me for having trouble believing that someone who almost tortured Giles to death is suddenly all cuddly and loving!" Cordelia shouted back.

"Hey, Cordy, in case you don't remember, that was _Angelus_, not Spike, AKA the guy you're trying to bring back to give you information!" Buffy yelled. "Idiots," she muttered. "Spike, we're leaving."

It was Fred who tried to keep them there. "Buffy, wait!" she called. "Please don't leave. I wasn't lying on the phone when I said we couldn't do this without you. And if you stay, there's no risk that anything could happen - "

Buffy whipped back around and said in a low, deadly voice that was almost a whisper, "Are you _kidding_? Or are you just _stupid_? There's _always _risk. There's risk every time I go out on patrol. There's risk every day when I let Dawn go to school. There was risk every week when Niles and Fran were both on the brink of getting fired. And, you know what? This has just shown me something. I can't stay here. If my leaving will keep you from trying this, then I'll leave."

"But," Wesley said, "I don't think you understand, Buffy. We're going to do this whether you're here or not."

It was a bluff.

He had to be bluffing.

But what if he wasn't?

_It's time to make a choice, Buffy, _she told herself. _There's always risk involved. No matter what you do here, there's going to be risk._

She turned around once more and gave him a sweet smile. "Guess what, Wes?" Buffy said. "Bluff called." She grabbed Spike, turned around, and walked out the door.

_A/N: Okay, so this probably should have been about twice as long as it was, but I didn't really think Buffy would stay there and argue with Cordelia for hundreds of words on end, and I really wanted to do that whole closing line thing, so this is it. Yay. Next chapter will be up eventually. Maybe even tomorrow, if I get around to it._


End file.
